


The Lion's Effect

by L0neWard3n



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Crossover, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29207004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L0neWard3n/pseuds/L0neWard3n
Summary: Commander Taia Shepard of the Alliance Navy has always prided herself in getting the job done, no matter the cost. But when she wakes up in a cell belonging to an organization she had never heard of, that was filled with species she had never heard of, she doubts herself.Thinking she failed her cycle and caused the extinction of everyone she ever cared about by failing to activate the Crucible, Shepard is racked with guilt and sorrow, but refuses to give up. It may not be the end of that Cycle yet, but she vows to give it her all in helping the 'new' races in keeping their world safe and aiding the Inquisition to achieve its goals.Little does she know, the truth of what really happened to the people in her own Cycle is far different from what she thinks went down...
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Josephine Montilyet, Female Shepard & Female Inquisitor, Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. This is Definitely Not Home

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking out my story! Updates may be slow so I apologize, but at the very least I hope you enjoy :)

Shepard’s eyes shot open, pain flooding her senses. She groaned, looking around groggily before the memories came rushing back. The last thing she remembered was activating the Crucible… The explosion from shooting at it must’ve knocked her out. Once she took in her surroundings she quickly realized that she had No Idea where she was.

A cell door was in front of her, snow and bright light poured in from her left, the cold breeze and bright light causing her to groan again. A voice came from the right, it was definitely a soldier of some sort. Great, she saves the galaxy and still gets locked up for it. AGAIN. She was expecting an Alliance soldier, or a cop, but instead she was met with what looked to be a woman with pointed ears. 

She blinked, thinking she was seeing things but when her eyes opened again nothing had changed.

The woman spoke, she had an accent… British, at least that made sense, the Crucible Was positioned over London when she activated it. “It’s good to see that you’re finally awake, when my soldiers brought you up from the Valley you were out cold, do you mind answering a few questions?” Her voice was warm and friendly, but she clearly held some sort of authority. Shepard decided to not say a lot until she herself got some answers about who the woman was and where exactly she was.

She also had a bit of pent up fear, remembering Garrus was hurt the last time she saw him, she just hoped that she could find him soon… She didn’t want an Archangel 2 to happen when she wasn’t even dead.

Finally she spoke, the woman looked a bit surprised, muttering ‘A human with a dwarven accent? How peculiar’ under her breath. Though it wasn’t the type of mutter that was negative, rather just confused.

Shepard stared at her, deciding to stay blank and put up her walls, “Only if you answer a few of my questions in return.”

“Thank you. Here, I’ll get you out of that cell. We just didn’t want you waking up and wandering around lost, sorry about that!” The pointed eared woman seemed awfully friendly, yet Shepard still had no idea who- or what she even was.

“Ma’am, Sorry if this is rude but what are you, I have never seen someone with pointed ears like yours.”

“I’m… An elf? From Clan Lavellan…? Y’know, the Dalish?”

Shepard looked at her blankly, clearly not having a clue what she was talking about.

“You don’t know what elves are? Hm. Well I suppose some cities may not be near or have many elven populations, I can explain it in a minute. Follow me please,”

The pair stepped out of the dungeons and into a courtyard of sorts. Shepard looked around and saw people bustling around the keep going about their daily lives. What confused her was the fact that there were more elves, what looked to be ‘Dwarves’ and then a few really tall horned men and women too. She had never seen any of these species, and was just left so very confused. 

“Welcome to Skyhold, home of the Inquisition. I’ll give you a tour once we’re done with the questions if you’d like.”

“First I’d like to know where we’re going.”

“Oh, I thought that since you don’t seem like you’re aggressive, the tavern seems a good place to ask a few questions. I thought it would make you feel more comfortable than a small cramped cell.”

“Thanks… “ Shepard had started to clue in that this wasn’t earth, hell it didn’t even look like her own time period. Everyone had some sort of medieval garb on, the soldiers had knight-like armor and no one had guns. She thought that maybe she was going through what Javik went through… Maybe she didn’t defeat the Reapers and somehow woke up in the next Cycle… Shepard quickly shook the thoughts from her head. She distinctly remembers activating the Catalyst before waking up in the cell… There’s no way everyone she cared about was dead… Right?

They arrived at the Tavern quickly, it was only across from the Dungeons so it was a quick walk. Shepard got a few strange looks, though it took her a minute to realise why. It was her outfit. Everyone had clothes that very much reflected the medieval time period she assumed they were in and she was in her Casual wear she used to wear on the Normandy… which was strange considering she was wearing armor before her brain went blank, and she doubted people here would have access to Alliance clothes from a different time period.

“Welcome to The Herald’s Rest… Messere… uh-”

“Shepard. My name is Taia Shepard.”

“Shepard! A pleasure to meet you. I’m Tyreen Lavellan, though you may have heard people call me the “Herald of Andraste”, or “Inquisitor Lavellan.” The titles aren’t necessary, Tyreen or Lavellan are perfectly okay!” The elf sure did seem friendly, rambling on happily as if she was unfazed by the fact that she barely even knew her. 

“Alright, Tyreen. Nice to meet you too.” Shepard held a hand out for a hand shake, but she gasped seeing that Tyreen’s hand had a glowing green light coming from its palm, “Your hand-!”

“Hm? Oh you mean the Anchor. It’s fine, it doesn’t really hurt… At least not too bad, and it isn’t like I can stop it.” Tyreen laughed, she seemed… surprisingly calm about the mark.

“How is that possible? It looks like Magic… but that isn’t possible,”

Tyreen chuckled, “Well I can assure you I’m not a mage, I’m glad I apparently don’t look like one either otherwise the Templars might be hounding me,” She sat down at a table, gesturing for Shepard to sit opposite of her and waving over a barmaid. She ordered two drinks, one for each of them and turned back to Shepard

‘Okay, so there’s apparently magic here. That Definitely isn’t real back home,’ Shepard thought to herself, but quickly returned her full attention to the Elven woman, “I see. You wanted to ask me a few questions?” 

“Yes, if you don’t mind that is… I apologize in advance but you’re a bit of an oddity, we found you alone in the valley… in that strange outfit no offence. It’s not my job to know everything about everyone in Thedas… But my spymaster is unavailable right now and even still she has some Very different methods.” Tyreen paused, chuckling awkwardly and then thanking the barmaid and handing her a few coins before taking the two drinks and sliding one to Shepard. “First, we’ll start off with the basics. Where are you from?”

Shepard took the tankard, listening to the elven woman, “Well, as you’re probably aware. I’m not from around here… I’m from well- a far away place, We don’t have Elves, or Dwarves or those uh- big people with the horns.” She made fake horns with her hands above her head, “We aren’t all just human though. In fact there’s a lot more different type of people, Asari, Turians, Krogan, Quarians, Salarians… And many more, but you get the Idea.” Shepard tried to be semi-Vague about where she was from to make sure she didn’t sound insane, but also tried to make it clear that she had no idea about the events in this place.

Tyreen nodded, she looked a bit confused but understood the point Shepard was trying to make. Before she could ask another question, Shepard spoke again. 

“My turn. Do you know if anyone else was with me?” Shepard’s voice was calm, collected and forward. She didn’t let her emotions affect how she presented herself. Folding her hands and making herself seem more composed then she really was.

“No… were you travelling with someone? The soldiers said they found you alone and you didn’t look like you were suited for travel either, I’m sorry.”

“No it’s fine… I just had hoped someone was with me, Uh- nevermind. One more question, what’s the date?”

Tyreen gave her a strange look, “The 15th of Drakonis, 9:42 Dragon.”

Shepard’s face paled, her eyes went wide with shock, ‘How is this possible, I… I activated the Crucible, it… it had to work, we spent so much effort on it! I can’t be alone.. This has to all be a joke-.’ Her hands shook, cupping the tankard while she desperately fought off her emotions. She wouldn’t break, she couldn’t… But it was almost too much to keep herself in check.

“Shepard are you alright? You look like you saw a ghost.” Tyreen’s worried voice broke her from her train of thought, looking up from her drink she forced on a more neutral look. 

Shepard blinked, it took her a minute to compose herself enough to speak. She was still in shock, who knew a single sentence could send her into this much distress?

“Yeah, I just realized how long it’s been since I’ve been home… A little homesick is all… Can we maybe pick this up later? I need some rest,” Yes, good. Get out of the situation, then she could at least try to process everything. All Shepard knew was that she was barely keeping herself together and needed to get out fast.

“Hm, yes of course. I understand how it feels being alone and away from home, here, I’ll walk you to your quarters.” Tyreen still didn’t quite believe Shepard, but whatever the truth was, it had clearly bothered the other woman enough for her to want to avoid continuing the discussion for now. 

“... Thank you Tyreen,” Shepard was thankful that the Inquisitor easily agreed to letting her go, but tried to avoid speaking much on the walk to the quarters, due to the fact that she didn’t know if she could keep the quiver in her voice under control. 

This had to all be one sick joke, right?


	2. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard finally gets alone, and is able to at least TRY to process everything she learned in that day. But makes yet another discovery that just ends up sending her one step backwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: This chapter's a bit shorter than the last one, but I have something big planned for the next one, so I hope you enjoy!

The room was small, but had a warm, and safe feeling to it. The only source of light was a crackling fireplace next to a worn-in desk. It reminded Shepard of the descriptions of some of the cabins Kaidan had told her about that Earth had. But even in the safe, cozy walls of the room she was the furthest thing from comfortable.

“There’s no way… It isn’t possible, I swear I activated the Crucible, I can’t be the last one left of the Cycle. I’m not, this is all just some elaborate joke and I’ll be back home before I know it.” Shepard gazed into a mirror sitting on the desk, barely recognizing the tired, worn out woman looking back at her. As much as she didn’t want to believe it, she knew that this wasn’t a joke. This truth became more apparent to her when her eyes travelled down to the mirror image of her left arm. Gasping in shock she looked down at her actual arm.

On it was a large, faded burn scar. It spanned from just below her elbow all the way up and over her shoulder. She didn’t know how much further it went, she didn’t care. All she knew was that it was almost definitely from Harbinger’s laser, and that enough time had passed that it was healed. 

Shepard’s head felt like it was spinning, the day just kept giving her more and more surprises and none of them were the good kind. 

“No. I’m not thinking rationally, my head’s just clouded with everything that’s happened… I can’t jump to conclusions, it would just make matters worse.” There it was, a rational, clear thought. One that Shepard was used to having, not these ‘what ifs’ that she still prayed were just that, What ifs. 

She decided that the best course of action was to sleep on it, then her head would hopefully be clearer by the time she woke up, and she could start figuring out how to handle this mess. 

It took her ages to fall asleep, she was used to having Garrus next to her, but now she was alone. The bed felt big, empty almost. Shepard had heard of this type of thing on the Extranet, people who’re away from the partners almost feeling… Wrong to sleep in a bed without them. She just couldn’t believe that it was a real thing, or that she was experiencing it herself.   
Finally, she fell asleep. Though it was most definitely not the refreshing experience she had hoped for.


	3. The Whispers of The Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard's brain seems to love to torment her, even in times where that's the last thing she could possibly need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite a long chapter, but has been one I've had planned on putting into this story since the beginning. Hope you enjoy! :)

“Shepard…” A voice called out, it was barely above a whisper, sounding feminine and light. Shepard looked around wildly, searching for the source. She knew that voice, It was the all too familiar voice of Tali’Zorah, Shepard’s closest friend.

Looking around for Tali, Shepard’s heart sank. She was back on the Citadel, but not in any of the Wards or on the Presidium, She was in the chamber where she was supposed to start the Catalyst. The place she had shot Anderson in. 

She was not happy.

Then again, she heard a voice call her name, “...Shepard,” it was whispery… echoing in the Chamber, though it was Garrus this time, not Tali. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find either of them.

“Garrus..? Is it over?” She finally spoke, the sound of his voice nearly causing her to break into tears, “Where are you? Did we win…?” Silence was all she heard in response. Shepard swallowed, blinking back tears while she waited, hoping she’d hear something.

“That’s a good question, Shepard. Is it over?” Another voice, not Tali’s, not Garrus’. No, not either of them, but the voice of someone that made Shepard’s blood run cold. It continued. “You obviously know the answer to that, you are a smart woman after all.” 

The Illusive Man. The last person in the Milky Way that she ever wanted to hear.

Shepard whipped around, locking eyes with him. He was calm, collected, as always. Meanwhile Shepard was seething with pure hatred just looking at him. She hadn’t forgotten what he had done. EVERYTHING he had done. She could have sworn he was dead… 

How was he here, where were Garrus and Tali? Nothing was making any sense. Shepard practically spat in The Illusive Man’s face when she spoke. “What do you want? I thought I killed you.”

“Ah, You did kill me Shepard, along with the crew of the Normandy, Earth, and Humanity as we know it.” The Illusive Man chuckled dryly, crossing his arms behind his back.

“W- What? No. You’re lying. You’re just trying to get me all worked up, they can’t be dead.” Shepard took a breath, squaring her shoulders and crossing her arms, “If you think one small comment is going to hurt me you’re dumber than I thought. Now where are my friends?”

The Illusive Man seemed to ignore Shepard’s question, he walked over and looked down at her. His eyes had a sick gleam to them that made Shepard’s stomach turn, “I would never lie about something as important to me as Humanity, Shepard. You should know this.”

Shepard didn’t respond, she couldn’t. No words could describe what she felt in that moment and she didn’t want him to know he got to her.

“Of course I should have known you wouldn’t believe me,” The Illusive Man paused, chuckling slightly, “You’ve always been stubborn Shepard. But I never thought that you would be so stubborn that you would cause the death of everyone you loved. If you would have listened to me and controlled the Reapers then maybe we wouldn’t be here.”

“Bullshit.”

“But instead, You decided to go even further and try to destroy them! I have to admire the ambition but you should have known you could never possibly destroy that many, no matter what skills you have.”

Shepard had enough, she finally decided to snap back at him. “Yeah well it was your fault we even had to face them head on! You let the Reapers know the truth about the Catalyst. If anything it’s YOUR fault this all happened.”

“Tsk. Even now, you’re still blind to reality, Shepard. What will it take for you to accept that you’ve failed?! You didn’t destroy the Reapers. You. Lost.”

“Stop talking.”

The Illusive man seemed to listen, he turned away and walked toward the control panel and away from Shepard. It was… Very unexpected. Shepard almost wanted to laugh in triumph of having the last word, but she knew it seemed too good to be true.

That’s when the whispering started up again, Tali and Garrus’ voices echoing in her ears. Shepard quickly realized that the whispering was eerily similar to her dreams before the final assault. Just her name, and the last thing the dead had said to her before they died. She then knew that they weren’t just toying with her, they definitely were not in the Citadel chamber.

“We’re in this until the end.”

“Keelah Se’lai, Shepard”

“Shepard.”

“Shepard…”

She felt a few stray tears run down her cheeks, usually she would be the type to force them down and force a smile, but she couldn’t now.. The whispering was far too similar to the whispers of the dead, and she couldn’t bear the thought of those two being dead. After all the things she’s been through, they were both always there for her, and if they were dead that meant that she had no one.

She was alone.

“Stop… Stop it! You’re a sick bastard, you know that? I don’t know what kind of fucking games you’re playing but stop using the voices of my loved ones to torment me. You’ve already caused enough damage.” Hot, angry tears poured down Shepard’s face, but she wasn’t done. She took some steps forward, towards The Illusive Man. Every word she spoke was like venom, hatred burned in her soul, “YOU made the Citadel come here. YOU made me shoot Anderson, and YOU caused their deaths. I would put a bullet in your head but you aren’t worth it.”

“Shepard.” Garrus’ voice called out to her again, making Shepard just get angrier. The Illusive Man has NO right using the illusion of his presence against her. If Garrus really was gone he deserved to have his soul rest more than anyone else. 

“Just- STOP. God, is toying with me not enough? Garrus has done nothing to deserve being used as a tool against me! He’s been through enough!” She was angry, which was understandable in the moment. She stormed up to the Illusive Man and forcibly grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to turn and look her in the eye. 

He only laughed in response.

“‘He’s been through enough’? Let’s explore that, Shepard.”

Oh no. The sick look on his face already told Shepard that she was going to regret what she said to him.

“First, let’s start with the fact that you went and got yourself killed, which, and forgive me for laughing Shepard, you have to understand it’s quite funny.” The Illusive Man wiped an imaginary tear from his cheek, pretending like it was the funniest thing in the Galaxy, “Which caused him to go to OMEGA of all places and become a Vigilante! And then he gets betrayed, and nearly dies! But he doesn’t, because YOU come and play hero. Eventually making him fall in LOVE with you, and making him think that everything will be alright and you two will get a happy ending!” 

Shepard’s free hand was balled into a fist again, tears streaming down her face. But The Illusive Man just kept laughing and continued one, “You know what Shepard? I don’t think you deserve a happy ending. All you do is pretend to be a hero, but put your own interests before everyone. INCLUDING the person you apparently “loved”. You’re just a weak, stubborn little gir-”

He couldn’t finish his sentence before she punched him, Hard. He keeled over, holding his jaw. But he didn’t stop laughing, in fact he seemed to laugh HARDER after she hit him. 

Shepard was nearly sobbing when she threw it, her body shook, eyes ablaze with fury. “Shut. Up. SHUT UP, You know NOTHING about me. You know nothing about how I felt, and you have no right to even SPEAK about him to me.” She barely even recognized herself, she had never lost it on someone like she did in that moment, but she couldn’t keep it all bottled in. Not after the things he just said.

The Illusive Man turned to look at her, wearing that same crazed look he had the day that he made her shoot Anderson, “You’re nothing but a brute with a lucky streak. You couldn’t possibly begin to comprehend how much better the galaxy would be if we controlled the Reapers!”

She punched him again, causing his nose to send a spray of blood out as he recoiled. He put a hand to his face to assess the damage. It was obvious he knew he was getting under her skin, breaking her mind to the point she was a whole different person. No longer calm and collected, it seemed like she finally started to snap.

Maybe that’s what The Illusive Man wanted, or maybe he was trying to break her down enough to convince her that she had been in the wrong. She didn’t know nor care at that point.

The man seemed to be quiet for a bit, holding his face tenderly. She probably broke his nose, she hoped she did. He deserved it, and worse.

“You know…” The Illusive Man began again, “he may not be dead.”

Shepard glared, but lowered her fist. “You just said that I was the reason he died.”

“Well, Shepard. Garrus is an exceptional soldier… His skills as a sharpshooter were the whole reason we recommended that you should recruit him for the Collector mission.” Shepard’s cold gaze didn’t leave his, she didn’t buy that he was just complimenting Garrus’ skills. 

Her suspicions were right, he was suggesting something far more worse than death. 

“The Reapers would have been smart to… heh.. “Repurpose” Vakarian into one of their Marauders.”

That was it. That was the last straw.

“You BASTARD!” She lunged at him, wrapping her hands around his neck. She may not have had her omni-tool or guns, but that didn’t mean she was rendered unable to kill. The sickening thought of Garrus becoming one of those… things flooded her mind. 

Her vision went blurry from the tears, and she started sobbing, “How… Dare you! He… He wouldn’t let them take him alive.” Her words were interrupted by hiccups and tears. He did it. He made Shepard break.

Of course, the Illusive Man wasn’t focused on that at that point, he was more focused on prying Shepard’s hands off of his neck before they could squeeze any tighter. 

“Why do you get to be here and he doesn’t? WHY?” Shepard wasn’t budging, she just wanted to see the light fade from that bastard’s eyes.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, The Illusive Man went limp.

Shepard thought it would make herself feel better, getting rid of the bastard again. But instead it now just left her alone with her thoughts, forcing her to process what he had said to her. Naturally, she didn’t take it too well.

For the longest time only the sound of Shepard’s mournful wails echoed throughout the Chamber.

Then, came a new voice. One she had never heard before. It was quiet, but not like the whispering she heard earlier.

“You believed him, you think that you are at fault for what happened. It gnaws at your soul, feasting on your doubt. But he was wrong, you were wrong. Your fears break you through these dreams, but they aren’t real. Wake up.”

Shepard tried to turn and see who was talking, but before they could finish she woke up. Light flickered through stained glass windows, casting fragmented colourful designs over her sweat-soaked body. The voice was right. 

That wasn’t real, just a horrific and twisted nightmare.


End file.
